The International Music Council (IMC) announces the 3rd IMC World Forum on Music, to take place in Tunis, on 17-22 October 2009, under the title Access to Musical Diversity. The Forum is organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Heritage Preservation of the Tunisian Republic. IMC presents its World Forum on Music (WFM) as a global knowledge-building platform on music and society in the 21st century, which explores a variety of topics from diverse perspectives: cultural, political and economical. The 2009 World Forum on Music will focus on five areas which IMC considers being of crucial importance to the world of music:

Cultural diversity: where do we stand?
Music as a vector for dialogue
Creativity and innovation in music distribution
New approaches to music education
Changing audiences: challenges for art music around the world

By seeking synergies across different sectors, this high-level forum will provide exceptional opportunities for scholars, government officials, private sector executives, professionals from the civil society, artists and students to engage in serious debates on current key issues. The Forum will also include a session that is specifically dedicated to Arab music, presenting local traditions as well as contemporary production.

Workshops will be organized to make participants better equipped to act proactively as advocates for music in their own environments and within their special fields of interest. In the framework of the Forum, the IMC will hold its 33rd General Assembly.

Contact: International Music Council, Silja Fischer, 1 rue Miollis, 75732 PARIS cedex 15, France; tel.: +33 1 45 68 48 50; fax: +33 1 45 68 48 66; e-mail: wfm@imc-cim.org; www.imc-cim.org